


Coffee Shop

by kksunflowerbaby



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, BAMF Annabeth Chase, Coffee Shops, Cute, Eventual Romance, F/M, First Meetings, Meet-Cute, Minor Character(s), Minor Jason Grace/Piper McLean, Percy is a Dork, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-14
Updated: 2018-09-14
Packaged: 2019-07-12 01:49:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,608
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15985025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kksunflowerbaby/pseuds/kksunflowerbaby
Summary: Prompt: forced to share a table at the coffee shop a couple of days in a row because crowded coffee shop and no roomSo, so, so fun to write. Percy and Annabeth meet in a coffee shop and romance ensues.





	Coffee Shop

**Tuesday**

Percy’s favorite coffee shop, The Coffee Pot, used to be a small hole-in-the-wall joint with a familiar round of customers. The baristas knew almost every customer and their drink order. Grover, the best barista and the manager of the place, was one of Percy’s best friends. 

Grover had worked hard over the past couple of years, marketing his business to all of his friends and anyone who would listen. It has paid off immensely. His reach has tripled easily, which meant Percy’s morning coffee didn’t get made immediately anymore. 

Today, a cold day in September, was a regular Tuesday. Percy had to go to work with his advertising firm, and wanted his morning coffee. He liked to arrive early, sipping on his warm drink and looking over the newspaper. When he arrived to the Coffee Pot, he saw he might not be able to achieve his usual routine. 

The place was packed, with three people lined up in the queue with another placing their order. Percy puffed out his cheeks and got in line. He mindlessly tapped through some apps on his phone, killing the time until Grover called his name. 

“Perce! Nice to see you, man,” Grover greeted him, already grabbing a cup and filling it out. “Usual order?”

“Yeah, please,” he responded, smiling. “I’m happy business is booming.”

“You’re telling me!” Grover grinned. “I’m gonna get that ring for Juniper now that I can afford one she deserves.”

“That’s great, dude!” Percy reached out to slap his shoulder and beamed. After handing over the money, he said, “Happy for you.”

“Yeah, it’s great,” his best friend replied. “Your drink will be out soon.”

“Thanks,” Percy said, turning and looking for a spot to sit. 

The Coffee Pot had seven tables, three of which had four chairs. There were three with only two seats, and the only seat available in the entire cafe was one of the two seaters. 

The other occupant was a blonde girl with glasses. Her long hair was pulled into a ponytail, falling over her left shoulder. She was hunched over a textbook, writing in the margins with a blue ballpoint pen. With her legs crossed, her right leg was bobbing to some beat only audible to the attractive blonde.

Percy had a newspaper in his bag and forty minutes to kill before he had to be at work. This was his only option and if he was being honest with himself, he wouldn’t mind talking to the woman. He approached her. 

“Hi, can I join you?” Percy asked when he was standing next to the table. He bit his lip hesitantly 

“Huh?” The girl looked up from the text she was enraptured in, and Percy blinked in surprise. 

Her eyes were the most stunning gray, the color darkening as it drew closer to the iris. Up close, he could truly see how beautiful she was. 

“I, uh, was wondering if I could sit here?” He cursed himself internally when it came out sounding like a question. “I have a newspaper to read and this is the only open seat.”

“Sure,” she said, shifting her textbook closer to her as to make room for Percy. “I’m Annabeth.”

“I’m Percy,” he said, reaching a hand out to shake. She took it with a small smile. 

He took the seat across from her and opened his newspaper. While reading over the finance section, he heard his name called. Percy looked up to see Grover was holding his coffee. He stood and walked over. 

“Hey, G-Man, do you know the girl I’m sitting with?” Percy asked as he grabbed his drink from him. 

“Shouldn’t you know her since you’re sitting with her?” Grover replied, raising a brow. 

“No, it’s just because there’s no other seats available,” Percy answered. “Is she a regular?”

“Yeah, actually she’s a friend of Juniper. They have a whole girl squad with Piper, Jason’s girlfriend? I think they all went to school together,” Grover said, looking over Percy’s shoulder to look at Annabeth. “She comes in once a week or so, I think. She’s nice. Juniper says she’s one of the smartest girls she knows.”

Percy also risked a glance over his shoulder to his seat-mate. She was still focused on her textbook, mindlessly tucking a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear. He smiled slightly. 

“She’s beautiful,” he murmured. 

“Yeah, that helps, too,” Grover laughed. “Now go back over there, I have customers.”

Percy shot him a grin and headed back to his table with a bit of pep in his step. When he placed his coffee down, Annabeth looked up. 

“What’d you get?” she asked, resting her chin on her hand. 

“A hazelnut coffee,” he replied. He gestured to her cup and asked, “What about you?”

“Earl grey tea,” Annabeth smiled. 

“Not a coffee person?” Percy took a small sip of his drink, testing the temperature. He winced slightly when his tongue felt the hot liquid. 

“More of a tea person; coffee kinda wires me for the entire day,” Annabeth gave a small laugh. “One time, I drank half a double espresso around eleven in the morning and I couldn’t sleep until one in the morning.”

“That would explain it, then,” Percy laughed along with her. He liked her laugh. “What textbook are you reading?”

“Oh, I’m annotating it, actually,” she replied, lifting the textbook. _The Anatomy and the Workings of the Human Brain_. “I’m the co-author.”

“Wow,” Percy blinked in surprise. “That’s impressive.”

Annabeth didn’t look that much younger than him, maybe even the same age. Percy had been out of college for about three years. He briefly wondered for a moment how many years of school Annabeth had been in. 

“Thanks,” she smiled. “It’s a work in progress, but I think the second edition could be finished within a year or so. What do you do?”

“I’m in advertising,” Percy told her. “I was recently promoted to director of media advertising.”

“That’s great,” Annabeth smiled genuinely. “How long have you been working in advertising?”

“About two and a half years,” he replied. “I started about six months after I finished college. I went to New York University.”

“Oh, I applied there! I didn’t actually go there, but it was in my top five,” Annabeth said. “I attended Cornell.”

Percy and Annabeth shared stories from their colleges, laughing and reminiscing. They were actually the same age, graduating in the same year. Annabeth shared how she grew up in San Francisco with her father and stepmom. Percy told her about his mother and stepdad, and how happy he was when they divorced seven years ago. 

Time flew and before he knew it, Percy had to leave for work. He smiled, and threw away his coffee cup. While grabbing his bag from the table, he hesitated for a moment. 

He wanted to get her number, but he didn’t want to be too forward. They hadn’t discussed significant others and there was a good chance that someone as amazing as her was taken. 

“I hope you have a wonderful day,” he said, gazing into her startling gray eyes again. 

“You, too,” she said, smiling up at him. 

Percy turned and left, taking one more look over his shoulder before doing so. She was still smiling at him. 

**Wednesday**

When he opened the door to The Coffee Pot, he immediately scanned the cafe for her blonde hair. He tried to hide his disappointment when he didn’t see her. He trailed to the back of the line, pulling out his phone. 

When it was his turn, he saw Grover smiling at him. “What?”

“You look blue,” Grover observed, smirking a bit. “Is it because someone isn’t here?”

“No,” Percy mumbled, ignoring his best friend’s knowing glance. 

When he got his coffee, he sat at the same table as yesterday and read his newspaper. He found himself re-reading the same sentence over and over again as he glanced up every couple of minutes to see if any familiar blondes had shown up. 

When he left The Coffee Pot for work, he frowned. Grover had told him that she came in about once a week. He had hoped she would come in the next day.

**Thursday**

Percy had gotten his coffee twenty minutes ago. He was looking through the sports section, sighing when he saw the Mets had lost their most recent game. He flipped the page and saw one of the ads his firm had printed. 

“Is this seat taken?” 

Percy looked up to see Annabeth, her hair in two braids now, in a yellow sweater and blue jeans. The same textbook was nestled in the crook of her arm, and her earl grey tea in the other hand. 

“It’s all yours,” Percy grinned. 

As she sat, he looked around the coffee shop. There wasn’t any other taken seats in sight. He smiled, and asked her about her day. 

Epilogue

For three more weeks, Annabeth and Percy met at The Coffee Pot unofficially. Every Monday and Wednesday, they met for breakfast. On Tuesdays, they both took their lunch hour for the new turkey pesto sandwiches Grover was offering. 

It wasn’t until Grover shouted “So, are y’all dating yet?” at the top of his lungs that they admitted they both liked seeing each other. 

They dated for a year and a half before Percy proposed, and Annabeth said yes with the biggest smile she’s ever had. 

Grover was Percy’s best man while Piper, Juniper, and Hazel were bridesmaids of Annabeth’s. Their wedding was the happiest day of their lives. 

Every Tuesday, even after five years of marriage, they have breakfast at The Coffee Pot.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so, so, so much for reading!


End file.
